Without a Name
by LadyIridescent
Summary: A young woman wakes up in a cold, dusty room with her memory completely erased. Watching over her is the one and only Vincent Valentine, who believes it is his responsibility to help her gain her memory. However, she drags him into a hell he never wanted to be a part of again. But whatever he has to do to repent from his sins, right?
1. Chapter 1

I woke up on a cold, stone floor. My head was throbbing, an aching pain that resounded throughout my brain. My body felt as if it was one giant bruise; I could barely sit up. Groaning, I pulled myself into a sitting position, rubbing one fist against an eye. My brow furrowed as I tried to push back the blackness that seeped into the edges of my vision.

Where am I, and how did I get here? I tried to remember, but nothing came. Emptiness... I couldn't even remember my name.

Finally, my vision cleared and my sight started to focus ahead-

Then I noticed the crimson eyes that watched me just a few feet away. I gasped, and immediately a pain seared through my lungs, cutting the gasp short. My breath caught somewhere in my throat, and I clutched at my chest.

"Don't breathe too quickly." The man said. He was crouching at my feet, still a short enough distance away to be close, but yet not pressing into my personal space. His hair was obsidian, the black locks falling down over his shoulders, held back from his forehead by a thick red cloth. A cloak in similar color draped over his chest, flowed back behind him, and gathered on the floor in abundance. He rested his armored forearm on one knee, the golden gauntlet gleaming in the dim light.

"Who are you?" I asked, expelling my breath slowly. The pain in my chest gradually relented, and I glanced up to meet his piercing gaze again. The sharpness of the color in his eyes nearly made my breath catch again.

He studied me briefly, his eyebrows knitting together for the faintest moment. "Vincent Valentine," he answered. His voice was a subtle growl, but yet non-threatening. "And you?"

I didn't want to take my eyes off this stranger. I still hadn't decided if I could trust him enough or not, but I needed to see my surroundings. "I don't remember," I said, peeling my gaze away and scanning the dusty, grey room. It was dull and bland, with layers of dust on just about everything. The furniture-consisting of two beds and a wardrobe-looked ancient; the wood looking as if the slightest amount of weight would send it crumbling to the floor. Groups of cobwebs hung from the ceiling in every corner, even draped down from the semi-elegant chandelier. But it was all unfamiliar to me. I glanced back uncertainly to Vincent Valentine. "Where am I?"

He shifted from his crouch first before he answered, bringing himself to a stand. He towered over me as he extended his hand down and waited for me to take it. "Shin-Ra manor. Or what's left of it, anyway."

I gave him my hand and he carefully pulled me up. Though I was extremely dizzy- the room was spinning endlessly around- I stood pretty steadily, only swaying slightly. "I don't think I remember anything about ShinRa." However, the name did leave a foul taste in my mouth when I said it.

"Count yourself lucky." He turned away, glancing around the room. I didn't know what he was looking for, and I didn't bother to ask. I just watched him silently, not really knowing what else to do. Finally he glanced back at me, his crimson gaze scrutinizing. "You're not really concerned that you don't remember your name."

I frowned. He was right. I was taking this lightly; I'm sure the proper reaction would be to panic. But I didn't feel the need. I met his gaze and shrugged. "I guess I know it will come back to me."

"Do you even remember anything about yourself?" As he asked, he shifted his weight on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, the black leather sounding as it moved over his muscles. His bountiful cloak shifted with the movement, revealing the massive handgun holstered at his thigh. Somehow, this comforted me. If he had meant to harm me, he probably would have the barrel pointing at my temple right now.

"No," I admitted. I realized I was standing stiffly, so I tried to relax. I let my muscles ease, and they shrieked in protest. Slightest movement, just the faintest, seared pain through my fibers.

"Anything you remember at all?" He questioned again. He could see my pain, I was sure of it. But he could probably sense that I didn't want to be asked about it. That or he knew I didn't have an answer for why I was aching.

"Blank slate... I don't even know what I look like."

He actually frowned at this. I saw it more in his eyes than on his face. The shine had turned from concerned curiosity to mild bewilderment. He stepped to me and, carefully pressing his fingertips on my shoulder, he turned me around. Ahead of me was a simple, full length mirror. It sat propped up against the brick walls, dust covering its gleaming surface. Vincent Valentine removed his gloved hand from my shoulder and stepped to the mirror. He swept the hand over the silver surface, leaving a clean streak down the middle. Enough clean area for me to see my reflection.

And I did not know the person staring back at me.

She was an average height, with porcelain skin and waist length, curly brown hair. Beautiful, topaz eyes flashed from under the curly bangs. Her face was softly rounded, with elegant cheek bones and a firm mouth. Her body was lean and fit, but also flatteringly curved with rather lengthy legs. She simply wore faded jeans and a slim-fitting top as she gazed back at me with disbelieving eyes.

And I stared right back at her, wordless.

After a moment of silence and confusion, I wiggled my bare toes. I was testing my supposed reflection. Her toes wiggled, too. Then I glanced back up to her face, and noticed the one single tear running down that ivory cheek.

I spun to Vincent Valentine, desperation clear in my voice. "I don't know who I am," I cried. My eyes were wide, frantic. Reality slammed into me like a bus at ninety miles per hour. "Who am I?


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't know who she is, Reeve," Vincent said into his phone. Outside, he breathed in the mountain air. He glanced up at the ruins of the manor, again reminded of the pain he suffered years ago in that place. Cringing, he turned away. "She doesn't know, either."

"And you just found her?" Reeve asked from the other end. He almost sounded skeptical. As if Vincent had any reason to lie to him.

"That's what I said." Vincent didn't know what to do with the girl, so he had called his old friend for help. He couldn't just leave her, not like he would have back when he was in his Turk days. One of the disadvantages of having what Yuffie describes as a 'heart of gold'. "She's scared."

Reeve sighed and Vincent pictured the Commissioner pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know it's not your job to help the helpless, Vincent. You can't go picking up every stray kitten you see."

"Okay." Vincent disregarded Reeve's words easily. The girl wasn't a cat, she was a human being. "She looks like she's in pain. So I'll probably bring her by the headquarters so you can get a doctor to look at her."

"You can't just-..." Reeve stopped himself, for which Vincent was happy. He didn't want to remind the Commissioner about all the favors he owed him. "Fine, we'll be waiting."

Vincent shut his phone, disconnecting without saying goodbye. His usual habit. He turned and glanced back up to the manor and for a moment, all was calm. He merely watched the ruins with solemnity. But the longer he looked, the heavier his heart felt.

"_Stop whining_," Hellmasker growled in the depths of his mind. _"You've had well over sixty years to get over that wench_." Somewhere in the corners with this hellish demon echoed the faint noise of a chainsaw, making Vincent cringe. It was like nails on chalkboard, to his mind.

_"Is it more, Vinnie?"_ A different voice cooed, dripping with malice. The most familiar voice: Chaos. _"You know it is. It's the girl; she doesn't bode well."_

"_Nothing _bodes_ well_," Vincent replied casually to the calamitous voices. The breeze ruffled the end of his cloak as his feet led him back up the front walkway of the senile mansion. "_How long have you known me? Since when has anything _bided_ well?_" He wasn't throwing himself a pitty party here, he was stating the facts.

Pushing open the creaking massive door, he let his mind think about more about the girl. Maybe she wasn't really a girl; she looked above the age of twenty. But they were all young to him. All just kids, with a whole life to live and make mistakes in. Normal mistakes, not mistakes that send the person you love locked in a mako-fused crystal for the rest of her life while you have no choice but to kill her son...

He grunted. This manor always made his mind go back to what he could not change. To what no longer mattered. His eyes searched the grandiose room for the frizzled girl, finding her at the base of the rickety stairs. She looked up at him with wide eyes filled with innocence. Eyes that pleaded for help though the girl had not said one word.

Eyes that mattered. "_Getting this girl her memory is something that matters,_" Vincent thought inwardly. "_No matter how it bodes_."

* * *

He looked at me with something sparking in his eyes. Like a memory or an idea. Then a mere fraction of a second later, it was gone and he sighed, "Let's go." He gestured out the wide open door. "I'm going to bring you somewhere safe, just until we figure out where you belong."

Beautiful daylight streamed through, highlighting every dust particle in the air. It framed around Vincent Valentine, almost making him appear...angelic. I guess he would have to be somewhat angelic, or demonic, with the color of those piercing eyes. Either way, he was helping me.

I carefully rose up off the bottom step of the stairs, trying not to move too quickly, and made my way towards him. The stone floor was cool against my bare feet and the thick layer of dust felt like sand as I moved. As I came closer, he glimpsed down to my feet. "It's not much of a walk to the nearest town," he said, "but it might be since you're barefoot."

"I'm sure I can manage," I replied with a small smile of reassurance. I'd have to manage; I was positive I wouldn't be able to find a random pair of shoes lying around in an abandoned mansion. But then again, Vincent was able to find a random girl lying around in an abandon mansion... Which sparked my curiosity…

"What were you doing in the manor?" I asked, gliding past him and into the warm, fresh air. I glanced back over my shoulder just as a forlorn expression crossed his face as he spared one last glance at the spacious room. He closed the door behind himself then turned to me with a look that said he didn't hear my question. I repeated it.

"Looking for data files," he answered. The reply was short and curt-he didn't want to explain any further. Instead he stepped ahead, his golden sabatons silent against the hard earth. He gestured around in the air, changing the subject. "There are wild monsters around here, so it's best to stay close." He gave me a stern look, as if saying, I mean it, and continued on to the large metal gate at the manor's entrance.

Just as we were stepping through, a flock of giant birds dropped down from the sky, crying out with hunger. One flared its wings out while screeching a viscous caw only seconds before a bolt of lightning shot from its gaping beak. The streak of white-hot light flashed inches before my face and I let out a frightened yelp, instinctively reaching my hand out for Vincent Valentine. To my relief, he caught it with his owned armored hand, pulling me behind himself. With his other hand, he swiftly un-holstered the weapon at his thigh, bringing it up to the face of our attacker with intense speed. And without the slightest hesitance, he shot it out of the air.

But that only signaled an attack from the others.

The majority of the rest swooped down, fearlessly taking on Vincent. I cried out his name, feeling too helpless to do anything, when suddenly there was a fierce tugging at my hair. I was yanked violently away from my cloaked guardian and dragged several feet away. I hollered out in protest-my muscles were screaming from whatever had left me in pain earlier- and reached up for my hair. I felt scales on taloned feet, feet that were yanking and pulling my head and hair seemingly everywhere at once. I could no longer tell if the owner was still trying to separate me from Vincent, or if it was desperately trying to escape the Medusa-like kinky curls it managed to ensnare itself in. Either way_, I wanted it to let go_.

I hollered out again, a deep cry of frustration and pulled my hands from my hair. I thrust my palms upward toward the raptor-like bird and, with a power I'm not sure where from, I neutralized the threat. A burst of fire erupted from my upturned hands and seared through the chest of my attacker, sending it flying from my head. Probably with a good bit of my hair still wrapped around its talons.

I lowered my hands and spun, searching for Vincent. A good ten feet away, he stood, surrounded by the corpses of the overgrown birds. His weapon was lowered and he watched me with expressionless features, unnaturally calm while I breathed heavily with sweat now glistening over my forehead.

"Are you okay?" I asked, expelling my breath. My body trembled involuntarily. What had I just done? Where did that fire come from?

Vincent's eyes did not move from me for a long moment, and I feared that he was beginning to think negatively of me. Great, now who would help me find me?

After a while, he stepped toward me with the silent movements of a ghost. Saying nothing, he stretched his hand towards my face. Not knowing his intentions, I froze and my rapid breathing stopped, catching once again in my throat.

His hand moved past my face and I watched it, unnerved, in my peripheral vision until I couldn't see it anymore. Something shifted in my hair, then his hand returned to my line of vision. Carrying one single, severed talon. Vincent let it drop from his gloved hand and it landed with a sturdy thud at my feet. With one abrupt movement, he turned and walked again to the direction we were going, his scarlet cloak billowing in the gentle breeze.

"That is just disgusting," I squeaked, my hand instinctively going to my curls. I stared down at the grotesque talon and wrinkled my nose. It had gotten stuck in my hair when... I didn't finish the thought.

I glanced back up to Vincent Valentine, who was gradually getting further away. "How come nothing got stuck in your hair?" I called huffily. He didn't respond, didn't even stop walking. Instead, he reached behind with his armored hand and slowly, teasingly ran the golden claws through his silky, obsidian locks. They glided through easily and unhindered.

I smoothed my palm down over my curls with a frown, trying to suppress the sure frizz that resulted from the attack. "Bastard," I muttered as quietly limped after him.

* * *

Vincent heard the name the girl murmured under her breath, but didn't reply. He was quite used to the envious comments he received about his lengthy, knot-free hair. Instead, he focused on the problems that arose since discovering the female.

For one, he had never seen that type of bird before. And he had traveled to Nibelheim numerous times. Those over-fed birds had been waiting for them to leave the ruins of the mansion; they had probably perched themselves right above the exit on some cliff in anticipation for him and the girl. And they had obviously tried to separate the two. No doubt, they were after the girl. But who sent them?

And for two, where did that blast of fire come from? Yes, it came from her hands. But that's the problem. Magic typically comes from materia, and Vincent couldn't sense any materia on the girl.

Vincent took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, careful not to let her hear him sigh. Nothing could never be easy, could it? He should have known helping her find her memory would have involved so much more.

He lifted his face skyward as he passed underneath the Nibelheim archway. "Time to rescue the helpless kitten," he thought to himself.

_"Meow_," Galian chipperly replied.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the trek to the nearest town-Nibelheim, Vincent had called it-continued without incident. Well, almost. I had stubbed my big toe on a massive, solid rock that I somehow did not see. I bounced around on my other foot for a moment, holding the injured toe and murmuring profanities. The nail had partially broken off, leaving a small trickle of blood coming from the skin underneath. My toe throbbed.

When we reached the small village, I took in the pleasantly simple surroundings. The buildings were aged and experienced, just as the people standing outside were. I met their gazes occasionally as they looked about Vincent Valentine and I in wonder. They would quickly glance away. _Probably shy, _I thought just as a young child grinned a toothless smile at me. He fluttered his fingers sheepishly at me, his chubby cheeks reddening. I smiled back at him and his cute blush deepened. Then he darted away into a ramshackle home.

I glanced sideward to Vincent and saw a faint curve in his lips. A hint of a smile. I admitted to myself that it looked good on him; he should probably half-smile more often. I wasn't going to say that aloud, though.

On the other side of the village, there was a simple truck waiting for us, silver and more than slightly rusted. It was obvious the thing was ancient. Every other inch was pebbled with minute dents. Vincent had said it was his and apologized for its roughness. I had said that it was better what I had: nothing. He pulled the keys from some pocket of his black leather outfit and, before unlocking the door, he glanced over the top at me.

"How do you know you can trust me?" he suddenly asked. He met my gaze sturdily, obviously expecting a reasonable answer. One that I didn't have.

"I just know I can," I answered. Behind the cover of the truck, my hands fidgeted with each other. I lifted my own gaze to his face. My eyes didn't meet his as steadily, but they did meet. He refused to back down, though. The expression on his pale face told me I'd have to do better than that. I chewed my soft lower lip momentarily, thinking of an answer. An honest one.

I really didn't know _why _I trusted Vincent. I just did. I felt a troubled but trustworthy aura radiate from him. I saw it in his eyes, I guess. I saw the depth of his sincerity and his hospitality in his eyes. I saw that he might have had a past I had no clue about, but that's just it. His _past. _Right now, he was completely harmless, only wanting to be utterly helpful.

Again, I wasn't going to say that aloud. I merely shrugged my shoulders.

His eyes still focused on me. On my face. Admittedly, it was unsettling. I presume it's always unsettling when someone just _stares_ at you. Eventually, his gaze broke off and he jabbed his key into the lock and turned. He climbed in, reached over and unlocked my door. I sighed with relief and opened my door.

Shortly after climbing into the senile truck's leather-bound front seat, I had made myself comfortable enough to realize how extremely exhausted I was. Every fiber of my being was begging to me for some sleep. So, I waited until Vincent kicked up the ignition and pulled out onto the blacktop. Few seconds later, I had promptly passed out, my head leaning against the window. In that position, I stayed close to unconsciousness for the majority of the ride. Minus the time Vincent drove over the large pothole in the road.

I guess he had been driving at a high speed, I wasn't sure. But when he hit the cavity, my right temple made an impressive collision with the glass window. Despite the impact, the glass did not break. Nonetheless, I stayed awake long enough to glance over at Vincent as he again apologized for the truck's not so smooth ride. I murmured something incoherent and settled again, falling back into the enticing blackness sleep offered.

A good hour or so later-too soon in my opinion-Vincent Valentine woke me up, gently and almost hesitantly shaking my shoulder. "We're here." His gruff voice pulled me from my personal oblivion. I turned my head towards him and blinked my eyes open, seeing multiples of him at first. One by one, though, the others disappeared, and I was left staring into the crimson irises of the man. I gazed at him in confusion for a moment.

For a small juncture of time, I couldn't remember who this reticent stranger was or why I was in a truck with him. I stared at him open-mouthed as the memory of the day slowly seeped into my reluctant mind.

Ah, yes. He was taking me somewhere safe.

"Okay," I yawned as he retracted and climbed out the drivers' side door, his abundant cloak sliding out behind him. I rotated my head to glare at the handle on my own door after the knob came completely off in my hand. It was a simple, pale blue oval taking up half my palm. It was quite unattached to the rest of the vehicle. I frowned as my half-asleep mind tried to take in the fact that I just broke part of Vincent Valentine's truck.

The door opened from the outside. My eyes widened and shot up to Vincent's face, his mouth partially opened to say something. Then, his eyes were on the handle. "Um..." I said awkwardly, letting my own gaze fall to the simple object.

"It's nothing," he said. He took the knob from my open palm and tossed it back into the truck's cabin, then stepped away to make room for me to get out.

My feet settled against the faintly warm, pebbled cement and Vincent shut the door behind me. I glanced skyward, noting the brilliant sunset in the western edge of the sky. On the eastern edge, a large building rose, matching the color of incoming night behind it. Off in the distance behind the building, was a gathering of organized ice crystals in the sky... obviously remnants of something. Watching it curiously with my eyes, I asked Vincent aside, "Vincent, what-"

"Vinnie!" I was cut off by a voice coming from the building. Running towards us was a young woman waving her hand frantically in the air.

Beside me, Vincent sighed and his shoulders drooped. Perhaps it was my imagination, but it seemed he even leaned closer to me, as if trying to hide himself. "Yuffie," he said, solemnly greeting her.

Yuffie slowed as she drew near, her face covered with an ear to ear grin. "Heard you'd be here," she beamed.

Vincent glanced down to his phone as he pulled the ancient looking thing from his pocket. "How'd you learn that, Yuffie?" The way he asked, I figured he already knew the answer.

"Oh, a ninja has her secrets!" For a ninja, I could already tell she talked way too much. Finally, she addressed me. "Hello! Who are you, chika?" Before I could even take in a breath to answer that I didn't know, she gave me a big spill about her being something called a 'White Rose'. She talked too fast for me to catch the full introduction, but I'm sure I was able to get the gist.

She twirled once, then twice, then sped off again in the direction she came. I exchanged a glance with Vincent, mine with confusion and his with exasperation. "We follow her," he said, sounding like a tortured dog. She couldn't really be that bad...

Before he took a step to follow, he shifted his phone to his armored hand. Curiously, I watched as he gave it one mighty squeeze. It fell to crumpled bits at his feet. I gaped at him.

"She's hacking into my phone calls," he explained, monotone. "Now I have to get a new phone, a new number." He stepped over the squished pieces easily and continued after the young ninja.  
I peered down oddly at the pile of oncewas phone.

As I looked ahead again- I had to make sure I didn't stub my toe- I saw a flash of silver in the corner of my eye. A gleaming lock of flowing, silver hair. I jolted my head towards its direction, suddenly filled with the sense that I was being watched. But I saw nothing.

I blinked with subtle confusion. I could have sworn I saw something. But nothing was there. No glorious hair, nothing. With a shrug, I dismissed it. Today was eventful, after all. Maybe my mind just needed a good rest.

* * *

"She's good, Commissioner," the doctor said with a plastered-on smile as he pulled away from me. He glanced over his shoulder to Reeve, the bearded man who had greeted us at the entrance of what he had said was the "WRO Headquarters."

"Thank you, Doctor," Reeve returned the smile with his own fake one. He patted the man's shoulder, apparently dismissing him from the infirmary room. As the white-robed man disappeared through the door way, Reeve turned his assessing brown eyes to me. From the moment Reeve laid his gaze upon me, they have been studying me, as if I was an extraterrestrial being. It was unnerving.

I shifted around on the cot they assigned me to, the crisp white sheet crinkling underneath me. A moment of awkward silence passed between us, the only two people in the room. Finally, the Commissioner spoke, his voice holding gentle authority.

"Vincent said he found you in the manor, with no memory?" he asked. I nodded confirmation. He crossed his arms over his blue alchemist's-looking robe, one hand petting the stubble hairs on his mustache. "Interesting… and there's still nothing about yourself you can remember?"

I wished I could tell him there was, I wanted so bad to remember _something. _My panic had settled since the tears I shed at the mansion, but my desire to know my identity was still quite alive. "No, sir."

Reeve sighed as another man, towering over the both of us, stepped through the door. I almost had not recognized him, had it not been for his striking crimson eyes, which I noticed were avoiding me. He merely nodded a greeting in my direction, but his gaze was placed upon the Commissioner.

I dully noted how Vincent Valentine was not wearing the same clothes he had worn when he found me, before. Now, he was wearing a simple black, satin button-up shirt with a tail that hung down over his dark blue jeans. His left arm, previously armored, was now free of its golden gauntlet. His sabatons had been replaced with simple boots.

I then realized I had been looking him from head to toe. I quickly averted my gaze to the window. I then appreciated the view of the closed blinds.

"We'll have to call you _something_," said Reeve after my moment of awkwardness had passed. I flicked my gaze to his thoughtful face. "What name would fit you, is the question." I waited for him to come up with a fitting name, to see what suggestions he would have. To my surprise, it was Vincent who spoke up.

"She looks like an Adena."

My eyes swiveled to him. He was looking at me with the most unreadable expression, as if I was staring into a book with blank pages. His arms laced over his chest as he leaned against the door frame, he continued to watch me, his scarlet eyes boring into me as he explained, "Adena means fire."

Instinctively I glanced down to my open hands. My thoughts went back to the fire that burst from these very palms. "Adena," I murmured the name. With a shrug, I glanced to Reeve. "That works for me, I guess." I wondered if Vincent had told Reeve of my capability. I hadn't thought they were unique, but the look Vincent had given me when I blasted the bird from my hair…. I wasn't sure.

"Your eyes kind of do look fiery," Reeve nodded. Then he spread a genuine looking smile across his thin lips. "Well, Adena, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have a shower ready for you in the west wing. I'll have Yuffie bring up some clothes for you. Vincent, can you show her the way?"

Vincent slowly shifted his eyes to the other man. Almost reluctantly, he accepted the request. "Okay." He pushed himself from the door frame and lowered his arms from his chest with a roll of his shoulders.

"Very well!" The Commissioner padded light-footedly past Vincent into the hallway. "When you drop her off, I'd like to talk to you in my office, please. We have to discuss the data files."

Vincent didn't respond, but I guess he didn't have to. He glanced over to me, seeming impatient. I slid from the nursery cot to my still bare feet and rushed behind him. He nodded his parting to Reeve, then led me away.

He was quite the entire walk up to the west wing. Figuring he was lost in thought, I didn't stop to ask him questions, though I was forming more and more after each step. Like, where exactly is the WRO Headquarters? What is the WRO? And what was that thing I had seen in the sky? Or had that been an hallucination, too?

Eventually, I was so full of inquiries that I had to bite my lip from bursting.

When we arrived at the shower room, we slowed down to a halt. Vincent gestured to the metal silver door. "In there. Each shower has its own stall, so you'll have your privacy. Plus, I don't think anyone else is in there. Yuffie will set your clothes on the bench outside the stall you use. I'll be sure to make sure that includes a pair of shoes."

He didn't wait for me to respond, he just turned and left back the way we had came. My eyes followed him as he walked away, until I couldn't see him anymore. I inwardly wondered if I had done something wrong, or if he always acted that way.

I pushed open the door and quickly found a shower in the back of the spacious, waterproof room. It was tiled, everywhere. Floor, walls, ceiling. Waterproof. I closed the stall to my shower and gradually stepped from my clothes. My muscles were still a little stiff, but I could manage. They were definitely a lot better than before.

Folding my clothes and piling them neatly, I set them somewhere they wouldn't get wet. Then I glided under the showerhead, turned on its faucet, and relaxed. I felt my muscles loosen as the steaming water flowed continuously over my body. My curly hair weighed heavily as it drenched, the water tugging it down to its full length at my derriere. I let my eyelids flutter closed and released my breath in a lax sigh.

**_Kill them._**

The sudden voice was unmistakably masculine. My eyes darted open and I spun around looking for its source. I could have easily recognized the voices of Reeve and Vincent, even the doctor that had checked on my wounds. This was not any of the three. It was utterly unidentifiable to me.

**_You will kill them all._**

I realized then that the voice was reverberating throughout me. I felt it in my bones, in my mind. I dropped to my knees helplessly, pressing my palms to my ears at the volume of the unknown voice increased. It repeated the sentences over and over, louder and louder.

"Stop," I breathed out in pain, tears mixing in with the water that streamed down my cheeks. "Who…are you?" My hair was pulled from my back over my shoulders by the weight of the water.

But it was not _mine._ It was silver, glistening in the overhead light. I gasped at the hair and pulled at it. Numerous strands came out, snaking around my fingers. I gaped openmouthed at the foreign, silvery locks. I wanted to cry and scream out, but no sound escaped my mouth.

Instead, the voice dropped down to a malicious whisper in my mind. **_Hello, Adena. _**


	4. Chapter 4

Vincent was halfway through Reeve's debriefing when he heard the noise. It was the faint sound of a rapid, panicked heart beat. His head snapped up to attention, cutting off the Commissioner mid-sentence.

"Vincent? Something wrong?" asked Reeve, his previous words trailing off to form a question. Vincent, concentrating intently on the racing pulse, didn't answer. He instead craned his neck to hear more and allowed his advanced hearing to calculate the source and its distance.

"About the distance of the shower room," Vincent murmured to himself, thinking aloud. His skin prickled, a gut feeling that _something_ was wrong. He swiveled his crimson eyes to Reeve as the heart thumped relentlessly fast yards away. "It's Adena," he explained in his grow-like voice. "Something's wrong."

He pushed himself up from the metal wall he was leaning against before Reeve could think up a response. "Where's Yuffie?" he asked, hoping the young Wutain warrior wasn't late in delivering the clothes. Perhaps she could check on the other girl, as well.

Reeve frowned, his forehead furrowing into his heavy eyebrows. "Uh, let me see." He turned and stepped to the monitors lining the back wall and leaned over the shoulder of a nameless WRO officer. The way his aging brown eyes continuously scanned the computer screens told Vincent that Yuffie was nowhere to be seen.

"Great." He rubbed his nape with the palm of his bare hand as he sighed. "Find her, make sure she isn't tearing anything apart. I'll go…check up on Adena. Or I'll get someone to do it." He was heading out the door before Reeve responded, the metal hatch sliding shut behind him.

He rounded the corner silently, heading west to the direction of the shower room. This building was new, only a little over a year old, and he still had to get used to it. Instead of relying on his memory, he followed the sound of the increased heart beat. His footsteps made no noise on the floor as he glided down the ceramic tiles. He curved another corner-

And there was Yuffie, swallowed whole by _his_ over-sized red cloak. _His_ bulky gun holster hung barely on her thigh, holding _his_ Cerberus. She pulled the scarlet material away from her face, eyes rounding at the sight of the sharpshooter. "Oh, hey, Vinnie."

He glowered at her. "You were supposed to bring the girl her clothes," he said as he came to a halt in front of her, arms laced over his chest as his face scowled.

"Oh, yeah-"

A scream cut her off, its pitch reaching a tortured, painful high. It resounded through his eardrums, piercing Vincent's sensitive hearing. It came from the direction of the shower rooms. With a smooth, swift movement, he lurched forward, arms sliding from their habitual position at his chest, and yanked the abundant cloak from around Yuffie's petite form and rushed down the hall, Yuffie scrambling behind him. He ran full speed the entire way, coming to a stop only when he burst through the stall to Adena's shower.

Water rained down on Adena as she lay in a crumpled heap beneath the running showerhead, her body slack and unconscious.

"_What happened?" _Vincent thought as he jutted his empty hand out and cut off the faucet, then knelt down as he draped her limp body with his cloak. The ample cloth covered her almost head to toe, its dense red a great contrast to her porcelain skin.

Behind him, Yuffie had caught up, slowing down as she neared the scene. She slipped closer quietly, hesitantly peeking over Vincent's shoulder. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Vincent replied. He slid one arm under the fallen girl's knees, the other under her back and lifted her, holding her effortlessly against his chest. He made sure to be careful not to let the cloak shift and expose her body. As he turned cautiously, he lowered his gaze to the ninja beside him, a warning glint in his eye. "Get her some clothes and meet me back in the infirmary. And put my gun away before you hurt yourself."

"Gee, Vincent," Yuffie pouted, batting her eyelashes at him with a deeply apologetic expression. "I didn't mean… I'm sorry…"

He merely shook his head and tightened his arms around Adena. A soft murmur escaped from her lips, a gentle phrase so faint even he barely heard it.

"Forgive me…"

Vincent lowered his eyes to her face, noticing how pale she looked. He didn't respond, or ask her what she meant. He just watched her face, his mind blank for a brief moment, as if time had stopped. The single sentence had entranced him somehow. He had heard it before, heard the voice, but not from her. _Not from Adena…_

Yuffie's hand on his forearm pulled him to attention. She was looking up at him with concern in her eyes. He shrugged her off. "Go get some towels," he rumbled. "I'll lay her down." The ninja only nodded before running off, much to his appreciation.

He pushed past the stall door, careful not to accidentally bang Adena's head on the way out. Eventually, he made his way down the hall and back into the infirmary. Passing another nameless WRO soldier, he asked him to call for Reeve. The soldier looked puzzledly at the limp body in Vincent's arms and started to question. Stoically, Vincent cut him off with a grunt and resumed walking, "Just get the Commissioner."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and darted away.

Once in the infirmary, Vincent lowered the girl to the cot, tucking his cloak protectively around her slim figure. He straightened himself gradually and tucked his hands habitually into his pocket as his crimson eyes studied her sleeping face.

"_This is going so smoothly," _Chaos crooned in the far corners of his mind. "_You get to help the girl that passes out every ten minutes."_

Vincent sighed. He didn't want to be mean, but he almost felt the same as Chaos: annoyed. Nothing was ever simple for him. No, he couldn't find a girl that simply bumped her head and had a minor concussion and would be able to remember herself in five minutes. He had to find the girl that remembered nothing and was fragile and…weak.

_No, weak's not the right word,_ he thought._ She was able to protect herself back near Nibelheim._

"_With a blasting fireball that appeared from her palm. That's normal."_ Chaos grumbled. "_What's next? Summoning Bahamut with the blink of an eye?"_

Vincent lifted his hand from his pocket and pressed the tips of his fingers to his temple. _You're not making this any easier. _

Chaos quipped a response, but Vincent ignored it, for Reeve glided in through the infirmary door. A stern expression flickered over the Commissioners face as he strode inward. "She collapsed?"

Vincent scratched at his red bandana idly. "From what I can tell, she panicked. Her heart was racing when I was with you. Then she screamed and hit the ground. That's all I know."

_"Oooh, that's four sentences you've said in a row, Vincent!" _Chaos snickered in the background. "_You're social shell is cracking."_

Vincent shifted his weight on his feet grumpily and gloomily crossed his arms over his chest. _Shut up._ He refocused his attention on Reeve, who was eyeing Adena with a thoughtful gaze. "I have a bad feeling about her, Reeve."

Reeve glanced up and met his gaze. With a sigh, he agreed. "I do, as well, Vincent. But don't blame yourself for bringing her in. You were just trying to do the right thing."

"I guess."

The Commissioner adjusted the sleeves of his uniform, a nervous habit Vincent noticed. "Well, I'll have someone guarding her, keeping an eye on her. Two guards and…and Yuffie! Where is she, by the way? Did you find her?"

Vincent's eyes swiveled to the door frame. "Yes, actually. She should be coming with clothes."

Just a second later, Yuffie stepped in, a bundle of clothes stacked in her arms. She padded towards the two, extending a shirt in Vincent's direction. "I got you a shirt, Vinnie. Since yours was all wet." Vincent glanced down to his button-up top, noticing for the first time the huge wet spots covering his sleeves and his torso. He took the red t-shirt offered from Yuffie and nodded his appreciation.

He unbuttoned his own shirt as Reeve directed his focus to the Wutain girl, asking her to watch over the unconscious Adena. Vincent shouldered out of his shirt and slung the black cloth over Yuffie's shoulder. He unfolded the new one, glancing at its front before slipping it on. He frowned at its design: a pair of black fangs over the red background with the phrase "I bite" beside it.

He snatched his own shirt back from Yuffie's shoulder and replaced it with the red t-shirt. She blinked up at him innocently, flashing him an ear to ear grin before turning back to Reeve. Vincent slipped his arms through the sleeves again and buttoned his shirt back up. Adjusting the fold-down collar, he returned to the conversation.

"-just dress her and by the time you're done, the two other guards will be here," Reeve was saying. "I don't want her left alone." He turned to Vincent then, mouth open to give him orders, or suggestions, but was cut off when a soldier rushed in through the door, breathless.

"Commissioner," the soldier gasped for air. "We're surrounded."

Vincent stood alert as Reeve responded, "Surrounded? By what?"

"I-We… We don't know. We've never seen them before."

Vincent leaned subtly around the cot, leaning to glance out the window. "The entire building is surrounded by these birds," the soldier continued as Vincent's gaze dropped to the ground, several stories below. Sure enough, standing on long, scaly feet were enormous, brightly feathered birds. Vincent immediately recognized them as the birds that had attacked earlier.

"Oooh, pretty," Yuffie cooed beside Vincent, her forehead pressed against the glass. Though Vincent had to agree that the birds were faintly beautiful in their coloring, he wasn't comfortable with the numbers.

He pulled away from the window, turning to Reeve seriously. "There's thousands, Reeve. Maybe more."

The Commissioner's brow furrowed. He squeezed his way into the window space and looked down. "I don't understand, what are they here for?"

"The girl," Vincent answered, his eyes already on Adena, who still had not moved. _If it weren't for her heartbeat, I would think she's dead_, he thought inwardly. Aloud, he said, "They had attacked us when we left the manor."

Reeve spun to Vincent angrily. "And you didn't think to tell me?"

"They're not attacking," Yuffie stated before Vincent could respond. Her forehead was still smudging the glass, her fingertip now pressed to it as well. "Look. They're all just _standing_ there. All chill and everything."

"They're waiting," Vincent realized.

Yuffie finally peeled her forehead from the window, glancing over her shoulder at him. "For what?"

That, he did not know.

Reeve swiveled around to his soldier. "Go, tell everyone to grab their weapons and gear up. We want to be ready if they do attack." To Yuffie, he ordered, "Dress Adena if you wouldn't mind. And be gentle, we don't know if she's responsible or not. Then come meet me in the security room." And to Vincent, he asked, "What do you think? It's probably best if -"

Outside, there was a loud screech, followed by the sound of a thousand birds taking to the air.

"Shit." The soldier had summed it up.

* * *

**I was standing in the middle of a city of debris, stars shining brightly against the black blanket of the sky. My face lifted up as tiny speckles of green rained down from the explosion. My breath released in a sigh as fury and despair washed over me in massive, overwhelming waves. **

**On my left, he sighed. "Mother would have liked Omega, I would think." The tip of his longsword scraped at the dirt on the ground. "They had the same goal."**

**"And they both failed," I responded, arrogance filling my bones like air fills one's lungs. His apparition flickered away then after a fraction of a second, appeared on my right. He was mad at me, now. His eyes narrowed as he stared ahead.**

**"Third times a charm, I guess," he said. A breeze picked up and blew into his silver hair, pushing the locks from his face, making him look serene. "You won't fail, sister."**

* * *

** I was floating now. A mask wrapped over my mouth, supplying me with pure, untainted oxygen. Outside of my stasis tank, I overheard an argument. Between two fools, no doubt. How dare they wake me up?**

**"I don't think it worked," a female voice said with a sneer.**

**"Of course it did. When has his plan ever failed?" A snide, masculine one responded.**

**I wanted to open my eyes, to glare into the souls of those that disturbed me. But I was so tired. What was this weakness overcoming me? I should be so full of energy. Enough energy to erupt this entire laboratory into hellish flames. Instead, I merely blew bubbles from my nose. Maybe they would get the hint.**

**"I'm just saying she hasn't moved much. If she's supposed to be his most prized weapon, then shouldn't she be training?" Of course. These idiots couldn't tell I was trying to _rest_. And were they talking about _me_? Imbeciles.**

**I reached out with my mind. _Shut up_, I demanded with brutal authority. My thoughts did not reach them, but instead every electronic device in the room. Every monitor either blasted white noise or sparked into a small flame. The two mundanes in the room jumped to attention; I could hear their heart rate increase with alarm.**

**_Shut up_, I growled to them again. Though I was quieter this time, I still felt my thoughts reverberate throughout their mind. Successfully. _Get out_. Together, they scrambled for the exit. **

* * *

**I slipped my feet out of the thigh-length blue-striped black boots and dipped my toes into the cool water of the waves as they slapped at the shore. The clumpy sand bent under my weight. Behind me were bodies. I did not have to glance back to know they were there. I was the one that killed them. Slaughtered them, mercilessly. **

**I lowered the tip of my glaive into the water, ridding it of the unworthy blood, meanwhile humming a tune I did not know nor care the name of. I lifted my eyes up to the setting sun, its firey blaze reflecting off the iridescent sea. I tilted my head in wonder. Don't I shine like that, a contrast to all these fools? I shouldn't have had to been "tested" or "trained".**

**Behind me, the man was walking up. The one who had kept me contained in that wretched tank for far too long. I thought about killing him, but I had just cleaned my blade.**

**"Very good, my dear," he crooned with a smug grin. I swept my eyes to him expressionlessly. Watching him, I saw the pompous way he looked over me. As if he _owned_ me. My eyes narrowed, my grip tightening around the hilt of my weapon. Oh what a joy it would be to stain his snow white hair with his own blood. **

**But I let him continue on with his haughty ways.**

**"I should have let you fight the beast," he continued. "Why did I wait so long to let you loose?" **

**Ah, I knew of the beast he was talking about. A semi-worthy opponent, indeed. I knew his name long before the mundanes had told me.**

**Chaos.**

* * *

_They were memories. I knew that almost instantly. But I didn't… I didn't like them. They were evil. I was a monster. I pushed them back to the depths of my mind, willing myself to forget again. That wasn't me. It _couldn't_ have been me. _

_Could it?_

_I let myself slip back into the cold black oblivion of sleep. It seemed to be the only thing that would comfort me. Maybe I could sleep, and never wake up. Anything to prevent that monster from coming alive. _

_The monster he had shown me. _

* * *

Down on the ground floor, twenty squads of WRO soldiers advanced towards the birds in flight. They raised their arms in unison, waiting for the command to fire. It was given, and a line of bullets rained down on the flock closest to them. The rounds struck home and the few lifeless birds collapsed to the ground. After a moment, the bodies disintegrated, tiny streams of green light lifting up towards the sky. And in their wake, a new line of attackers joined in with the remaining hundreds of birds.

Soldiers of a different kind, wearing black uniforms lined with blue. To a lot of the WRO members, these uniforms looked painfully familiar. The WRO glanced at each other, a realization dawning on their faces. Many of them were taken down in their moment of disbelief and terror, allowing the attacking forces to advance. Bird and man, the frontline of soldiers strode steadily closer to the WRO Headquarters.

* * *

Vincent Valentine was not happy with the situation. He was rather annoyed. He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping girl; she was now dressed, thanks to Yuffie. She wore one of the extra female WRO uniforms they had; it was the only thing Yuffie could find. He grunted at the fact an unknown civilian was wearing a _soldier's_ uniform. He glowered, turning his attention back to the window.

The battle was raging outside. Gunshots rang up from the ground and there was an occasional tremor from a grenade detonation. He tapped the metallic fingers of his gauntlet on his arm anxiously. He wanted to be down there, fighting along side the others. But Reeve had decided it was best the girl was watched over by the one who found her.

"I'm a better fighter than a guardian," he muttered aloud. From his view, he watched several birds diminish in the onslaught of numerous WRO soldiers. At least they were doing well. He pulled away from the glass and propped his back against the wall beside it, crimson eyes scanning the spacious, L-shaped room. As his gaze passed over the telephone bolted to the wall at the other end, it sounded off. An annoying ring with an even more annoying pitch.

Striding towards it, he plucked it off the receiver. "Vincent Valen-"

"It's Reeve," the voice said at the other end, alarmed. "Vincent, the girl _cannot_ fall into their hands, understood? They're breaching past our front line and-"

"Who's hands?" Vincent cut him off, his adrenaline pumping through his veins. He flickered his gaze to the window, though from his position he couldn't see the ground below. But he did see smoke blending into the night sky.

"A different attacker," the Commissioner was breathing heavily on the other end. "I-I think it's- No, it can't be. But, you need to be with her. The data files you collected- I had Shelke go through them and they're- they're _Deepground_ files. I don't have time to explain right now, but I need you to take Adena and _get out."_ Reeve was obviously panicked, something was going horribly wrong.

"Reeve, what's happening?" Vincent demanded, his concerns growing. On the other end, the Commissioner barked orders to a distant squad. Vincent repeated his question.

"I don't know, Vincent," Reeve said with a sigh. "I'll have someone meet you on your way out-"

"Way out? I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are," he insisted with unmistakable authority. "You are taking Adena, grabbing the files and getting out of here. When you get somewhere safe, go through the data. Perhaps they can explain some more, we didn't get to finish them. Barely had time to start them. Your mission now, Vincent, is to bring the girl and the data files to safe-"

***CRASH***

Suddenly, the window was raining down into the room. Glass shards showered over the girl, almost reaching Vincent at his side of the room. Bursting through the destroyed window, a massive bird sounded off with one, mighty screech and folded its wings to its side as it came to a perch on the windowsill.

"What was that?" Reeve's voice was minute compared to the call of the bird. Vincent let the phone drop from his grip, too preoccupied to respond. He took a threatening step forward, afterward remembering he was unarmed. His cloak, holster and weapon were sitting on the small, simple chair beside Adena's cot.

The bird was between Vincent, his weapon, and the girl.

Vincent's gaze went past the bird, zoning in on Cerberus. _I can't get to it,_ he thought angrily. _I can't get past the bird._ The feathered beast surrendered a second shrill and cocked its head at him. He stopped his breathing and stood perfectly still as its unintelligent eyes settled on his body. They blinked once, twice, before it turned its attention away from him and to Adena, to the quiet, sleeping girl.

_Croooo_. The noise came from its throat, the feathers on its neck vibrated subtly. The bird stepped closer- barely fitting through the window frame- and dipped its massive head towards Adena. It inhaled through two rounded holes at the top of its beak, then opened its golden mouth and exhaled. A dense fog was its breath, flowing into Adena's own partially open mouth.

_Move,_ three voices urged Vincent in unison. He obeyed, throwing himself forward while a thick black aura simultaneously engulfed him. Stepping from the other side of the purplish black orb, the new beast puffed his chest, filled his lungs with air, and with as much power he could fit into one command, he roared.

"**GET AWAY."**


End file.
